Department for Transport

Aviation

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk of unauthorised remote access to aircraft avionics systems; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk of unauthorised access to air traffic control information systems; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) US Federal Aviation Administration and (b) European Aviation Safety Agency on cyber-security risks to (i) aircraft avionic systems and (ii) air traffic control information systems.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport (DfT) continues to work closely with national and international partners (including the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)) and experts across industry to assess the risk to civil aviation from a range of security threats, including cyber attacks. The growing complexity, connectivity and interdependence of aviation systems means that cyber security is increasingly becoming a factor in the design and operation of aircraft and air traffic control systems. As with all potential security risks, we keep this situation under regular review to ensure we and industry understand the nature and size of the problem and can put in place appropriate security measures and practices. Air traffic management providers are required to have a security management system to assess their level of risk to all security threats - including unauthorised access to operational systems. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reviews the security management system of all air traffic management providers as part of its ongoing oversight activities. The CAA, in conjunction with other authorities, also monitors the design of aircraft and aircraft systems for robustness against cyber threats and, where necessary, specific certification requirements related to cyber security are levied on aircraft designers and manufacturers. DfT also participates in the National Cyber Security Programme, led by Cabinet Office, which includes a range of activities with industry aimed at improving the protection of critical infrastructure – including aviation. This work involves the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and other relevant parts of government. Many of the aviation security challenges we face require a coordinated international response and cyber security is no different. A coherent global approach to cyber across the aviation domain is fundamental to mitigating the risk and integrating new technologies in a safe and secure manner.

Mersey Tunnel: Tolls

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review Merseyside tunnel tolls and set out the (a) scope, (b) participants, (c) timetable and (d) completion date of such a review.

Andrew Jones: I have asked officials at the Department to engage with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority regarding a review of tolls on the Mersey Tunnels. Discussions on the scope, timing or duration of such a review remain ongoing.

Community Railways Initiative

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the annual cost is to the public purse of community rail partnerships; and if he will make a statement on the operation of such partnerships.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose is of community rail partnerships; and how many such partnerships there are.

Claire Perry: Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) are at the heart of the Government’s Community Rail Development Strategy, which seeks to make it easier for the rail industry and local communities to work in partnership to do more to ensure the long term health of local services. ‘The Value of Community Rail Partnerships and the Value of Community Rail Volunteering’ report published in January 2015 has shown that CRPs pay for themselves, adding economic, social and environmental value whilst passenger use on community rail lines grew by an additional 2.8% each year compared to the national rail network or regional services. There are 39 community rail partnerships supporting 74 local rail lines in the UK. Funding for individual partnerships is provided through a number of sources including private donations. Departmental funding for individual partnerships is provided through the franchise process. We cannot provide the annual cost to the public purse as the data which we hold does not differentiate between contributions made to cover core running costs of individual partnerships or those that are used to deliver projects on community rail routes. Additionally many partnerships receive funding from their local authorities in recognition of the innovative work they do supporting local objectives.

Cars

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions he has made for the use of green technology in the Government's new code of practice for driverless car testing; and what plans he has to extend the pilot test scheme beyond four cities.

Andrew Jones: There are no plans to include specific provisions for the use of green technologies in the forthcoming Code of Practice for testing Driverless cars in the UK. Nonetheless, the use of driverless technology is expected to deliver environmental benefits by reducing unnecessary acceleration and braking, resulting in smoother, more efficient and cleaner journeys. As well as the trials of driverless cars in four UK cities, the government is funding a range of other activities in this area. In addition, the non-regulatory approach of the Code is expected to encourage those wishing to develop and test these technologies to do so in the UK.

Bicycles: Buses

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on permitting cycle racks on the front of buses.

Andrew Jones: There are no specific regulations dealing with the fitting of cycle racks to the front of buses. The vehicle must comply with applicable road traffic law, including, but not limited to, overall dimensions, lighting, driver view of the road and the avoidance of danger, such as the potential risk to pedestrians. These requirements may be influenced by the vehicle type and the design and location of the rack. In common with other legislative provisions, it will be for the vehicle operator to ensure compliance with the law. As such, I do not believe there is cause for my intervention. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency enforces existing road vehicle regulations and they have the necessary knowledge and expertise to fulfil this function.

Transport: South West

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote joined-up transport ticketing systems in (a) Bath and (b) Bristol.

Andrew Jones: We are working closely with the local authorities and transport operators in both Bath and Bristol to deliver integrated transport ticketing. Building better bus services: multi-operator ticketing was published by the Department in March 2013 and provides guidance for local transport authorities on planning and implementing multi-operator ticketing services. In October 2013 the Department established the Smart Cities Partnership programme to accelerate the delivery of smart multi-operator commercial tickets. The West of England Partnership, including Bath and Bristol, is a member of the Smart Cities Partnership and has, alongside other large cities, bus operators (and equipment suppliers), committed to delivery principles that will underpin growth in smart, multi-operator ticketing. The big five bus operators have undertaken to deliver multi-operator ticketing this year throughout the Smart Cities Partnership areas, including Bristol, and we will be working with them to support delivery.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Devolution: Urban Areas

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech on 14 May 2015, whether devolution of certain powers and resources to city-regions is contingent on cities accepting a mayoral model of governance.

Mr Mark Francois: Government will consider any, and all, proposals for devolution of powers from cities, counties and towns that can demonstrate they have put in place strong and accountable governance arrangements. The most ambitious deals will devolve powers to directly elected metro mayors.

Communities and Local Government: Cost Effectiveness

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 1256, how much of the £230 million savings came from (a) receipts from public land, (b) reducing contingencies in capital budgets and (c) the European Regional Development Programme; and from which budgets and programmes contingency savings were made in (i) capital budgets and (ii) the European Regional Development Programme.

Mr Mark Francois: As part of the Main Estimates process the Department (and other Government Departments) will shortly be publishing a full breakdown of its 2015/16 budgets, with an accompanying Explanatory Memorandum to be submitted to the CLG Select Committee.   The £230 million savings are broken down as follows:   - £75 million of resource contingency reductions (including contingency on the European Regional Development Programme);   - £100 million from the over achievement of capital receipts from the sale of public land to support housing development; and   - £55 million of capital contingency reductions.The savings do not impact materially on any existing commitments or delivery targets.

Homelessness

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) homeless people and (b) rough sleepers in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.

Mr Marcus Jones: The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own. Since 2010, the Government has invested over £500 million to support local authorities and voluntary sector agencies to prevent and tackle homelessness. This has helped prevent over 700,000 cases of homelessness by finding new accommodation or helping people stay in their own home.Statistics on homelessness in England are published on a quarterly basis at the following link; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness

Help to Buy Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average cost of homes sold to first-time buyers under the Help to Buy scheme in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Ashfield constituency.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 17 June, PQ 2345.

Right to Buy Scheme: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes were bought in Ashfield constituency under the Right to Buy scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on annual Right to Buy sales for each local authority district in England are published in the Department’s table 685 which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales Quarterly data for 2014/15 for each local authority district in England will be published in Live Table 691 on 25 June 2015.

Homelessness

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people in the UK in each year since May 2010; and what steps he is taking to prevent homelessness in the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones: The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own. Since 2010, the Government has invested over £500 million to support local authorities and voluntary sector agencies to prevent and tackle homelessness. This has helped prevent over 700,000 cases of homelessness by finding new accommodation or helping people stay in their own home.Statistics on homelessness in England are published on a quarterly basis at the following address; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessnessHomelessness acceptances are now less than half of the peak seen under the previous Labour administration when it reached 135,590 in 2003.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the flow of migrants from ports in Libya.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK and EU Member States have agreed to establish a military Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operation to disrupt trafficking and smuggling networks in the Mediterranean, which will include migrant flows from Libya ports. To stop the flows reaching Libya in the first place we are engaging with source and transit countries to address the causes of migrants leaving their home countries, through development aid, humanitarian support, addressing human rights abuses and tackling conflict.We are also working to bring order and stability in Libya to make it a more difficult operating environment for smugglers and traffickers. Only a stable and representative Government of National Accord (GNA) can deal with the political and security challenges Libya faces, including the control of her borders.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to prevent migrants attempting dangerously to cross the Mediterranean.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the consequences for current negotiations of Iran's abandonment of the Additional Protocol in 2006.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Iran signed its Additional Protocol on 18 December 2003, although it was never brought into force. Iran’s implementation of its Additional Protocol will be an important element of a robust and credible verification regime that enables the International Atomic Energy Agency to confirm that Iran is abiding by its nuclear commitments under a comprehensive agreement. The E3+3 and Iran agreed in Lausanne on 2 April that Iran would implement its Additional Protocol under a comprehensive deal.

Religious Freedom

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the right to freedom of religion or belief is upheld across the world; and if he will appoint an envoy for that purpose.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Thalidomide

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart on securing financial contributions towards the cost of UK thalidomide survivors' health needs.

Mr David Lidington: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed the Thalidomide Trust’s campaign in March with Chancellor Merkel. We have since been informed by the Chancellery that officials from the relevant German Ministry will travel to London in July to meet representatives of the Trust.

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Attorney General, how many full-time equivalent staff who are qualified (a) barristers and (b) solicitors were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Robert Buckland: The number of full-time equivalent staff who are qualified (a) barristers and (b) solicitors who were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2010 to 2015 is shown in the table below  BarristersSolicitors2010-11740.32085.02011-12741.31845.52012-13646.81705.42013-14612.21617.92014-15627.71627.7   Notes: Data extracted from the CPS HR Database iTrent as at the 31st March in each year Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database Data may differ from previously published data due to differing specifications

Crown Prosecution Service

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Attorney General, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the years from 2010 to 2015.

Robert Buckland: The number of full-time equivalent people employed on the Crown Prosecution Service’s staff in each of the years from 2010 to 2015 is shown below.   Financial YearFTE Staff2010-118,0942011-127,4642012-137,0462013-146,6112014-156,135

Crown Prosecution Service

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of the budget of the Crown Prosecution Service was spent on (a) premises, (b) administration, (c) staff, (d) external suppliers, other than external Counsel, (e) external Counsel and (f) other costs in each of the years 2010 to 2015.

Robert Buckland: The proportion of the budget that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spent on (a) premises, (b) administration, (c) staff, (d) external suppliers other than external Counsel, (e) external Counsel and (f) other costs in each of the years 2010 to 2015 is given below.   Financial year2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Premises7%7%7%7%7%Administration3%3%2%2%1%Staff53%56%57%57%55%External suppliers13%14%13%13%14%Counsel19%16%17%19%21%Other1%2%2%2%2%   Note: The figures for the years 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 do not sum to 100% because in each of these years the CPS reported a small underspend against its budget.

Offences against Children

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Attorney General, if he will make it his policy that people who have signed the Official Secrets Act should not be prosecuted for reporting information relating to possible child sex abuse offences.

Robert Buckland: It would not be appropriate to give a blanket undertaking that people who have signed the Official Secrets Act should not be prosecuted for reporting information relating to possible child sex abuse offences. However, I can, and have, given undertakings to public inquiries that, in certain circumstances, such prosecutions will not take place.In other cases the decision to prosecute alleged offences of this kind will be made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) using the two stage test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Firstly, is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and, if so, is a prosecution needed in the public interest. A factor when considering the public interest would be any reason given for the alleged breach.Most offences under the Official Secrets Acts require my consent to prosecute. Therefore if the CPS did wish to bring proceedings they would need to seek my approval for those offences.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what responsibilities the National Apprenticeship Service has for regulation of apprenticeships in the UK.

Nick Boles: The National Apprenticeship Service is not an organisation in its own right, but is a service delivery brand operated by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). The SFA, as the funder of post 16 education and training in England, has the responsibility for the funding of apprenticeships in England. Any organisation in receipt of SFA funds to deliver apprenticeships is required to comply with the associated Funding Rules which detail compliance for the apprenticeship programme as referenced in the Deregulation Bill of 2015.

Graphene

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of potential business and research applications for graphene; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) capital and (b) resource funding his Department allocated to the National Graphene Institute in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his strategy is for the commercialisation of graphene-related applications; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many graphene-related patent applications were filed in the UK between 2011 and 2014; and what information his Department holds on the number of such applications filed worldwide in that period.

Joseph Johnson: The UK Government currently invests well over £100 million in graphene research, training and innovation. This includes £50m Government capital investment to build national capability to support the commercialisation of applications for graphene (pledged by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, in October 2011), £34m for graphene innovation capability and over £24m in EPSRC research and training grants across UK universities.The National Graphene Institute (NGI) at the University of Manchester is a key element of the UK’s global research and technology graphene hub to build national capability to support the commercialisation of applications for graphene. The NGI is a resource for research groups and businesses across the UK to facilitate collaborative work where appropriate. It has received funding of £38 million of the £50m capital funds from the UK Government via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), alongside £23 million of funds from the European Regional Development Fund to help accelerate the commercialisation of graphene. The NGI was officially opened by the Chancellor, the Rt Hon George Osborne, on 20 March 2015. UK Government funding for the NGI 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15Capital£1.35m£2.33m£22.64m£11.68m More than 35 companies from across the world have already chosen to partner with The University of Manchester working on graphene-related projects. University of Manchester researchers have also secured £9.5 million from EPSRC for ‘Graphene Engineering’ research projects and a Centre for Doctoral Training focussed on developing world-leading expertise in the science and technology of graphene.In 2014, Innovate UK and EPSRC invested £2.5m in feasibility studies to accelerate commercial applications of graphene. The competition invested in projects that explored the potential of graphene to yield new products that could disrupt markets.To build UK capacity in this area, £34m has been invested into graphene innovation capability. In 2014, £20m funding was announced (including £15m from HEFCE UK Research Partnership Investment Fund and £5m from Innovate UK) towards a £60m investment in Manchester called the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), which is co-funded by the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar. UK Trade and Investment worked alongside Manchester City Council and the University of Manchester to secure this investment. Set to open in Manchester in 2017, the GEIC will complement the NGI and initiate further industry-led development in graphene applications with academic collaboration. The GEIC will contain substantial pilot production facilities and will be a leading test-bed for graphene process engineering and scale-up. It will link with international programmes for research project support, such as the €1 billion European Union Graphene Flagship. Also in 2014, the Chancellor announced a £14 million investment for a “Graphene Applications Innovation Centre” to be based at the Centre for Process Innovation in the north-east of England (part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult).Subject to the availability of funding following the Spending Review, Innovate UK intends to further support business-led innovation in graphene by running competitions to accelerate the commercial applications of graphene. An efficient, longer-lasting ‘graphene lightbulb’, developed by a University of Manchester spin-out company, is believed to be the first commercial application of graphene to emerge from the UK.In 2014, Innovate UK set up a Graphene Special Interest Group (SIG) to provide leadership and a focal point for the exploitation of graphene by UK industry and to help connect and align the developing UK graphene value chain. A scoping document produced for the Graphene SIG examined time to market for key graphene-enabled technologies, it can be found at:https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/10660253/14368155/Graphene%20Think%20Piece_Oct2013The table below shows the number of published patent applications in the UK (filed by applicants based anywhere in the world) and the total number worldwide.  UK publicationsTotal Worldwide publications2011132209201236457320136273612014599203 The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) does not hold worldwide patent data so this has been extracted from an external database, as used in the IPO’s 2015 graphene patent landscape report available fromhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419651/Graphene_-_the_worldwide_patent_landscape_in_2015_-_accessible.pdf

Apprentices

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average cost to a company is of hiring an apprentice.

Nick Boles: The cost of hiring an apprentice is dependent upon a number of factors. Apprenticeships are real jobs and employers pay the apprentice’s wage. This must be at least the Apprentice National Minimum rate, currently £2.78 per hour (£3.30 from October 2015) for those aged under 19 and anyone in their first year. Most employers pay more than the apprenticeship minimum wage. In 2014, the average gross hourly pay received by apprentices in England was £6.31. Government pays 100% of the training costs for apprentices aged 16-18 and up to 50% for apprentices aged 19+ (depending on additional factors) with employers contributing the rest. The cost of training is determined on the level and duration of the apprenticeship framework. The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) provides small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees) a £1,500 per apprentice incentive payment for up to 5 new apprentices aged 16-24. AGE is available until December 2015.

Apprentices: Private Sector

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices have been employed in the private sector at the end of their apprenticeship in each of the last five years.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices have been employed in the public sector at the end of their apprenticeship in each of the last five years.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices were employed in companies employing fewer than (a) 20 and (b) 50 people in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: Information is not centrally collected for either the number of apprentices by company size or the number of apprentices who go on to work in the public or private sectors at the end of their apprenticeship.A survey carried out during 2013/14, found that approximately 16% of apprentices were working in the public sector[1], and 75% were working in the private sector. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387595/bis-14-1207-Apprenticeships-Evaluation-Employers-December-2014.pdf  Public/private sector is based upon self-declaration by the employer.

Parental Leave

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many parents have applied for shared parental leave since its introduction.

Nick Boles: We do not hold information on the number of employees that have applied for Shared Parental Leave. We will evaluate Shared Parental Leave and Pay by 2018 when the new entitlements have had time to bed in.

Apprentices

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to regularly report on apprentices' (a) wages, (b) number of hours worked, (c) age, (d) level of education and (e) duration of training.

Nick Boles: Considerable information on apprenticeships by age and level is already regularly published (in January, March, June, October and November each year) as part of a Statistical First Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held. Supplementary tables on the actual duration of apprenticeships (first link) and the planned duration of apprenticeships (second link) are also published online: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284791/June13_Apprenticeship_ALOS.xls.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381735/apprenticeships-starts-planned-length-of-stay.xls. Information on apprenticeship pay and hours in England, Wales and Scotland is not included in the Statistical First Release but is published in research findings from the Apprenticeship Pay Survey. The most recent survey covers apprentices working in 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-pay-survey-2014 The Apprenticeship Pay Survey was previously carried out in 2012, 2011, 2007 and 2005.

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, from which countries representatives have been invited by the Government to the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition at the ExCeL Centre in September 2015.

Anna Soubry: The invitation process for attendance to Defence and Security Equipment International 2015 (DSEI 15) has not yet been completed. The UK Government intends to publish the full list of countries invited at the start of the exhibition, which will be available on the GOV.UK website.

UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation priority markets are for 2015-16.

Anna Soubry: The priority markets for 2015-16 have not been set yet.

Department for International Development

Crimes of Violence: Children

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to work with (a) other governments and (b) global organisations to tackle violence against children.

Justine Greening: My Department works to prevent and respond to violence against children across a wide range of humanitarian and development programmes. For example, we support the “No Lost Generation Initiative” where the UK is funding education and psychosocial support for Syrian children to protect them from violence, abuse and exploitation.  To ensure lasting impact we seek to work closely with other Governments. This includes programmes such as our £35 million investment in ending FGM, through which we collaborate closely with 17 partner countries and UN agencies to end this practice. The UK is one of the largest Government donors to UNICEF, the lead UN agency on violence against children. In addition, we fund a range of other global organisations including Save the Children and World Vision, whose work includes ending violence against children.

Developing Countries: Multinational Companies

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help developing countries create efficient tax regimes for multi-national corporations and (b) work with governments in other countries to ensure an equitable tax system for multi-national corporations in developing countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Department for International Development funds the OECD and World Bank Group to provide expert advice to developing country tax authorities to improve their capacity in taxing multinational enterprises and better administering transfer pricing. At the Autumn Statement the Government also announced £1.8 million for HMRC to recruit a dedicated team of experts to tackle tax avoidance and evasion in developing countries, complementing the work of the HMRC Tax Capacity Building Unit. DFID also support the OECD’s Tax Inspectors Without Borders initiative, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases. In addition the Government is working with OECD members and G20 countries to ensure that developing countries can not only participate in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) process that is reforming international tax rules, but also implement the outputs that emerge.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment she has made of the effect on productivity of delivering efficiency savings from her Department's budget.

Nick Gibb: The government is continuing to improve the public finances in order to create the best conditions for sustainable growth.   The savings for 2015-16 announced on 4 June 2015 are being achieved through further efficiency savings, tighter control of budgets to drive underspends in year, and through asset sales.   No savings will be made from protected schools funding.

Academies

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department will take to ensure that new providers who take over schools that have been issued with academy orders are better suited to provide education for pupils in those schools.

Nick Gibb: To be approved as an academy sponsor, applicants go through a rigorous assessment process and are required to demonstrate that they have the skills and expertise to help under-performing schools improve rapidly. The criteria considered can be found at: www.gov.uk/sponsor-an-academy Outcomes of all applications are determined by the relevant Regional Schools Commissioner, advised by their Head Teacher Board of outstanding academy leaders.

Academies

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to determine the power to delegate decisions on academy orders to regional schools commissioners; who will have that power; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State is able to delegate individual decisions within her remit to Regional Schools Commissioners without legislation, just as she can to other civil servants. She remains accountable for those decisions which are taken in her name.

Educational Institutions: Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department has provided to (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) further education colleges, (d) local education authorities and (e) academy chains to help them comply with statutory requirements placed on them by the Counter-Terrorism Act 2015.

Edward Timpson: Keeping children safe from risks of radicalisation is a safeguarding matter and should be approached in the same way as safeguarding children from other risks. School staff should use their professional judgement in identifying children who might be at risk of radicalisation and act proportionately. Our statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, includes specific references to radicalisation and can be found at:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/435939/Keeping_children_safe_in_education.pdfThe Government also published statutory guidance in March setting out the types of activity we expect specified authorities to consider when complying with the duty, which includes a chapter aimed specifically at schools. This information can be found here:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/417943/Prevent_Duty_Guidance_England_Wales.pdfA training package called the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP) has been provided to public sector workers and others in the community since 2007, including in schools. It is designed to help identify when people may be vulnerable to radicalisation, how to raise concerns and what proportionate responses should be taken. It is regularly updated and refreshed to deal with any emerging issues.The Department will issue further practical advice for schools on the Counter Terrorism and Security Act shortly.

Polish Language: CGE A-level

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received on AQA's decision to discontinue the Polish A-level from 2018; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education has received a number of representations on AQA’s decision, including from the Polish Ambassador, whom I met on 21 May 2015, and in correspondence with several Members of Parliament.   We are currently considering what further support and encouragement can be provided to awarding organisations to enable as wide a range of languages as possible to be maintained at GCSE and A level.  The government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. The number of pupils entering for a modern language GCSE has increased by 20% since 2010 due to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. To this end, the Secretary of State wrote to exam boards during the pre-election period to express her concern about their decision to stop awarding qualifications in some languages. She asked awarding organisations to work with Ofqual on the future of these qualifications and committed, if there is no further action, to launching a consultation on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.

Academies

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the governance of first wave academies; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The governance arrangements for all academies are overseen by the Education Funding Agency and are based on ensuring compliance with their funding agreement and their duties as charitable companies. The department updates its requirements in relation to academies’ governance regularly through the Academies Financial Handbook with which all academies are required, by their funding agreement, to comply.

Schools: Transport

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the discretionary powers of local authorities on school transport funding are used to reflect local needs.

Nick Gibb: Funding for school transport is delegated to local authorities. They have the discretionary powers to provide free home to school transport beyond their statutory duties. We believe that local authorities are best placed to determine how their resources should be used in the areas they serve and to balance the demands of a broad range of discretionary travel against their budget priorities.

Mathematics: GCSE

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assurances she has received from Ofqual that (a) sample assessment materials for the new mathematics GCSE reflect the standard of live assessment materials and (b) schools will be told about changes before the next school term.

Nick Gibb: Ofqual published the findings of its research into GCSE mathematics sample assessment materials on 21 May 2015. These findings are available online at: www.gov.uk/government/news/actions-in-response-to-ofquals-gcse-maths-research-report   At the time of publication, Ofqual set out its intent that all exam boards review their sample assessment materials, having due regard to the research findings. Exam boards have agreed to take the actions set out by Ofqual. Ofqual has given public assurance that it has processes in place to review new materials from exam boards so that they can be used in schools from the end of June 2015.

Classroom Assistants

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has she made of the number of teaching assistants employed in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Hyndburn constituency.

Nick Gibb: The latest available figures on the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants in state-funded schools are from November 2013 and are published online at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013

Classroom Assistants

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new teaching assistants were employed in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Hyndburn constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in state-funded schools in England is published each year in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical series available online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforceStatistics on the number of new teaching assistants employed each year in England, Lancashire and Hyndburn are not available in the requested format.

Mathematics and Science: Teachers

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the retention of qualified (a) science and (b) mathematics teachers.

Nick Gibb: The information is not available in the format requested.

Ministry of Justice

European Convention on Human Rights

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dominic Raab: This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. A Bill of Rights will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system. The UK has a proud tradition of respect for human rights which long predates the Human Rights Act 1998. The Human Rights Act opened the system to abuse, which has damaged the credibility of human rights. We will consult fully on our proposals before introducing legislation.The Prime Minister told the House on 3 June: "The plans that were set out in our manifesto do not involve us leaving the European convention on human rights, but let us be absolutely clear about our position if we cannot achieve what we need... I rule out absolutely nothing…”

Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps have been taken to improve the conditions at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre since Ofsted rated it as inadequate; and whether the contract awarded by his Department to G4S for running that centre is under review.

Andrew Selous: The safety and welfare of young people in custody is vital and the Ministry of Justice takes the issues raised in the recent Rainsbrook inspection report extremely seriously. We have taken immediate action to make sure these issues were being addressed by the operator The Youth Justice Board (YJB) are closely monitoring the implementation of an action plan to review all elements of recruitment, selection, training and supervision at Rainsbrook, with a strong focus on improving leadership, conduct and culture. A new Director has also been put in place and formal, disciplinary action has been taken in relation to a number of staff. YJB staff are meeting frequently with the Director and leadership team at Rainsbrook to seek evidence of timely and effective progress being made in addressing the concerns highlighted in the report. The G4S Regional Managing Director will also conduct a review of the service in conjunction with the YJB. A further, unannounced inspection will take place in the autumn. If G4S fail to resolve the issues raised, further contractual remedies are available, including contract termination. Contracts for the Medway and Rainsbrook Secure Training Centres are currently being retendered. Announcements regarding the competition will be made in due course.

National Probation Service for England and Wales

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what responsibilities the National Probation Service holds in relation to victims services; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that service in discharging those responsibilities.

Andrew Selous: The National Probation Service has the statutory responsibility, under the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 and the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, for the Victim Contact Scheme. The Scheme provides victims of sexual and violent offences, where the offender receives a prison sentence of 12 months or more, with the right, should they so choose, to be informed of key stages in an offender’s sentence, such as if the offender is transferred to open conditions or released. Victims have the statutory right to make representations about the licence conditions to which the offender will be subject on release. Where an offender is serving an indeterminate sentence, such that the offender may be released only on the direction of the independent Parole Board, victims may submit a Victim Personal Statement to the Parole Board, setting out the impact which the offence had and continues to have on them. Victims are asked for feedback through a satisfaction survey that takes place after the first face-to-face contact with a Probation Victim Liaison Officer. The latest figures can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201314. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation inspected the standard of victim contact work, and its report, published in November 2013, found that, overall, victims were positive about the service they had received and were generally satisfied with the Victim Contact Scheme.. This report can be found at http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/probation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/03/victim-contact-report.pdf

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to approve the contract for the Secure College.

Andrew Selous: The Coalition government legislated for secure colleges and we are now considering the next steps.

Secure Training Centres: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average number of hours of purposeful activity delivered each week at each secure training centre in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: Data is not collected on the average number of hours of purposeful activities delivered weekly at each Secure Training Centre (STC). Young people in STCs are required to be out of their room for 14 hours each day, and are required to participate in education or training courses for at least 25 hours per week and 5 hours of offending behaviour programmes.

Reparation by Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of young offenders who have taken part in restorative justice schemes in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous: The number of young offenders that participate in restorative justice processes is not collected centrally.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

General Election 2015: Voting Behaviour

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the reasons for the difference between the highest and the lowest voter turnout in a constituency in the 2015 General Election.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission gathers detailed electoral data including information on turnout at most major set of elections. However, it does not analyse reasons for variable turnout across the country. There is other research available, particularly the British Election Study for UK Parliamentary general elections, which does look at the reason for different turnout in different areas.

Prime Minister

Iraq Committee of Inquiry: Pay

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Prime Minister, (a) how many people are being paid from the public purse for their work on the Chilcot inquiry, (b) whether such people are paid by the day, month or year or by the amount of work that they have done and (c) at what rate such people are paid.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newport West (Mr Flynn) on 3 February 2015, UIN 222484.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what continuous improvement programme there is for his Department's procurement practices.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to make progress in improving procurement, as evidenced in the latest National Audit Office Major Projects Report, which recorded the best cost performance on major MOD projects since 2005 and the best time performance since at least 2001. Our 10-year, affordable and realistic equipment and support plan, which now underpins defence procurement, is also having a positive effect on the way we buy and support equipment for the Armed Forces.Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), where most equipment procurement is undertaken, was established in April 2014 as a bespoke trading entity - an Arm's Length Body of the MOD. The changed status of DE&S, and its associated management freedoms, marked the beginning of a three-year timeline to transform it into a best-in-class defence acquisition and support organisation. Through this programme, DE&S will draw on industry best practice to review and improve project controls and programme management, thereby enabling the organisation to operate in a more business-like fashion.The MOD also continues to work with suppliers to ensure defence procurement represents value for money, while ensuring that suppliers are paid a fair and reasonable price. For example, the new Single Source Procurement Reform Framework, known as the Orange Book, requires suppliers to provide regular, standardised reports on single source contracts, and comply with new costing regulations, as set out in the Defence Reform Act 2014 and the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014.

Ministry of Defence: Legal Costs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies spent on legal fees in each year since 2010; and under what budget sub-headings that expenditure was made.

Mark Lancaster: The information regarding the legal costs for the Department and Executive Agencies is not held centrally. Therefore, the information necessary to properly answer the hon. Member's question is not readily accessible.I will write to the hon. Member once we have gathered the necessary information provided it does not exceed the disproportionate cost limit.

Ministry of Defence: Employment Agencies

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which five recruitment agencies received the most fees from (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies since 2010.

Mr Julian Brazier: The five recruitment agencies who received the most fees from the Ministry of Defence, since 2010, are detailed below:  1Medical Military Personnel2Capita3Castle Rock Group4Hays5Pertemps  The five recruitment agencies who received the most fees from the Ministry of Defence’s executive agencies and associated bodies, since 2010, are detailed below: 1Giant Services Ltd2Eximius Group3Hays4Office Angels5* Gatenby Sanderson * Represents fees paid to the executive search agencies only. Information provided does not represent purely recruitment, or search fees and may include labour costs for the individuals hired in. Also, some fees were paid for non-employees.

Polonium

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the UK ended production of Polonium-210; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: According to departmental records, Polonium-210 was produced in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s at civilian sites for the nuclear weapons programme. There is no evidence to suggest that Polonium-210 was produced in the UK more recently than the 1960s.

Mediterranean Sea: Warships

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which ship will replace HMS Bulwark in the Mediterranean; and when that ship will be replaced.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether engineers have recently been sent to fix evaporaters on HMS Bulwark.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Bulwark can produce adequate drinking water for its crew and the migrants aboard.

Penny Mordaunt: HMS Bulwark is currently in Malta for scheduled routine maintenance and will then resume her tasking as planned. We do not discuss the details associated with the maintenance of our deployed units, but I can confirm that HMS Bulwark has adequate fresh water supplies.HMS Bulwark continues to play a full and active role in dealing with the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and there are no plans for the UK to withdraw from this mission. While Bulwark was deployed for an initial 60 day period ending next month, we are currently considering follow on options to continue the UK military support to the operation.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions: Widowed People

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that reforms to the pensions system do not unfairly affect widows who have relied on their husband's earnings and have not themselves made a sufficient contribution.

Justin Tomlinson: The new State Pension will be based on an individual’s own National Insurance contributions. This reflects the fact that, in contrast to earlier generations of women, most people of working age today are able to gain sufficient qualifying years to qualify for a state pension in their own right. We have put arrangements in place to ensure that certain women who elected to pay National Insurance contributions at the married women and widows’ reduced rate are not affected by withdrawing access to derived basic State Pension. Widows who qualify under these arrangements will be able to get a pension of about the same as the basic pension they could have got in the current scheme plus any additional State Pension they built up themselves by April 2016, if that is more than they would get under the new rules on their own contributions. We are also protecting the additional State Pension (also known as SERPS or S2P) a surviving spouse or civil partner would have been able to inherit under the current rules, if their deceased partner had either died or reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. Where both members of the couple are in the new State Pension system, the surviving member may inherit half of any “protected payment” (the amount, if any, by which a person’s state pension valued under current rules exceeds the full rate of the new State Pension at 2016). These arrangements will apply where the marriage or civil partnership had begun before the new scheme starts.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of households affected by the under-occupancy penalty have received payments to mitigate in full deductions from claims for (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance in (i) England, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales.

Justin Tomlinson: No information is held on the proportion of households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy that have received payments to mitigate in full the deductions from their housing benefit.

Housing Benefit: Islington

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for housing benefit were approved in (a) the London Borough of Islington and (b) Islington South and Finsbury constituency in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: The available information on the number of new claims for housing benefit by local authority is published and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-statistics-on-speed-of-processing--2 The same information by Parliamentary Constituency is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are being tested to speed up the processing of benefit claims; what effect any such measures are having on processing times; and when he plans to implement any such measures in full.

Priti Patel: The Department currently uses a suite of measures to track and manage the timeliness of payments for the range of benefits it administers. We steadily increased the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claims processed in 16 days from 85.8% in 2009-10 to 96.0% in 2014-15. We are now aiming to clear Jobseeker’s Allowance claims within 10 days. In 2009-10 we processed 70.8% in 10 days and this increased to 91.4% in 2014-15. We have also steadily increased the number of Employment and Support Allowance claims processed in 16 days from 72.9% in 2009-10 to 93.6% in 2014-15. We are also aiming to clear Employment and Support Allowance claims within 10 days. In 2009-10 we processed 54.9% in 10 days and this increased to 87.5% in 2014-15. We are planning to continue this approach across a range of other products.

Social Security Benefits

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people and households with no access to the internet are able to claim benefits.

Priti Patel: Where a claimant does not have internet access at home, DWP staff may be able to support claimants to find local internet access. Claimants contacting our agents, either via the telephony channel or face to face, will be provided with up to date information on where they can find external organisations that provide free public internet access. There are also public internet access devices available across the Jobcentre network for those claimants who are unable to find an alternative source of access. Staff will assist claimants in using these devices where necessary.

Social Security Benefits

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support benefit claimants in managing their money on a (a) monthly and (b) fortnightly basis.

Priti Patel: Jobcentres often provide budgeting support and can also signpost people to locally available support services. Within Universal Credit, the Personal Budgeting Support process provides a conversation with all claimants at their initial Interview to gauge their potential support needs – this could include money advice with a mix of online, telephone and face to face support. Alternative Payment Arrangements can be made for the minority of claimants that may struggle to manage monthly payments initially.

Universal Credit: Torfaen

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out the timetable for the roll-out of universal credit in Torfaen.

Priti Patel: In February of this year , we began the national roll out of Universal Credit to Jobcentre areas across Great Britain. Universal Credit has been available to new single claimants in Torfaen since April.

Children: Poverty

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the Children's Society findings that 6,050 children live in poverty in Walsall North constituency, of which 4,600 are in households in employment; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: The Government does not produce child poverty statistics at a constituency level.

Universal Credit

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to uprate the work allowance within universal credit in 2016-17 and 2017-18; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: There are no plans to uprate the work allowance within Universal Credit in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Social Security Benefits

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the UK are not claiming what value of each benefit and pension entitlement; and what proportion of each benefit and pension entitlement is unclaimed.

Priti Patel: In February 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up in 2009-10”. The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up

Children: Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the measure of child poverty defined in the Child Poverty Act 2010.

Priti Patel: We will set out proposals to deliver on our manifesto commitments on child poverty in due course.

Pensions

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with pension providers on problems in accessing pension benefits since 6 April 2015.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have converted their pension benefit with (a) a pension benefit valued at less than £30,000 and (b) a guaranteed annually rate attached to their pension scheme since 6 April 2015.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who converted or transferred their pension benefits were required to seek advice before doing so since 6 April 2015.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a safeguard benefit attached to their pension benefit have converted or transferred pension benefits since 6 April 2015.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who converted their pension benefit since 6 April 2015 and were not required to seek advice will now be required to seek advice under the rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority in Policy Statement PS15/12 published on 8 June 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: The April 2015 reforms have given people more freedom and choice on how they fund their retirement. Individuals with Defined Benefit Pensions and pension benefits which contain a guaranteed annuity rate can transfer to a Defined Contribution scheme if they wish to access their pension savings flexibly, after they have taken independent financial advice. The Government is committed to monitoring the new pension flexibilities as they bed in. This is why the Chancellor has announced a consultation to identify the extent to which people are facing unfair barriers to accessing their pensions flexibly and to identify whether further interventions are necessary. We will be working with Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator to ensure the flexibilities are delivering for consumers. DWP does not currently have data on the number of people who have converted their safeguarded benefits to a form that can be taken flexibly since 6 April 2015, or on the numbers of people who have taken independent advice. Nor do we have data on the number of people who would not have previously had to take advice but now will as a result of the FCA rules announced on 8 June 2015. Those affected may include members with a DB pension or a pension with another form of safeguarded guarantee whose total benefits are worth over £30,000 as well as people with Guaranteed Annuity Rate entitlements. However, the Pension Regulator is in the process of gathering data, on the number of Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution transfers through their annual scheme return and this will include the number of transfers out under £30,000. This data will be available from Spring 2016. The pensions industry is responding positively to the new reforms and the Pensions Regulator is publishing guidance to support pension schemes and help trustees understand the new requirements.

Personal Independence Payment: Scotland

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate how many people in Scotland who are currently in receipt of carer's allowance and disability living allowance (a) are and (b) are not entitled to personal independence payments.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the financial effect on carers in Scotland of the changes to carer's allowance as a result of the introduction of personal independence payments.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate how many recipients of carer's allowance in Scotland have lost their entitlement to that allowance following the introduction of personal independence payments.

Justin Tomlinson: Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance cannot be paid to the same person simultaneously. The Department published an analysis of the impact of the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment on Carer’s Allowance in February 2013. This can be found at. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180970/pip-briefing-carers-allowance.pdf We have not undertaken any further analysis since then nor have we undertaken any specific analysis for Scotland. There are currently around 57,000 people in Scotland receiving Carer’s Allowance.

Social Security Benefits: Aberdeen

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was paid in (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payments to recipients in Aberdeen in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson: The latest data on disability living allowance expenditure by parliamentary constituency and local authority have been published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables, last updated on 26 March 2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014. Expenditure figures for personal independence payment (PIP) have been published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables, last updated on 11 June 2015:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015. However, figures are not currently available below national level. Information on the number of claimants in receipt of PIP, broken down by the award combination at constituency and local authority level for each month since April 2013 can be extracted using the Stat-Xplore tool –https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fish: Conservation

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in other EU member states on the effect of proposed changes to the minimum landing size of bass on salmon and sea trout stocks.

George Eustice: There have been extensive discussions with other EU Member States and the European Commission on the proposed changes to the minimum landing size of bass during the current process of agreeing bass management measures. To date these discussions have not included consideration of possible effects of these measures on salmon and sea trout stocks, although our general expectation is that any decrease in bass fishing effort will also help protect salmonids.

Greyhounds: Animal Welfare

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of the report, The Greyhound Industry: Don't bet on fair treatment, published by the Dogs Trust on 1 January 2015.

George Eustice: Defra officials attended the launch of the document on 3 June 2015. The report will be considered in the context of the ongoing 5 year review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 on which Defra plans to consult later this year.

Forests

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to accelerate the rate of new woodland planting.

Rory Stewart: As promised in our manifesto, we have committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, which we plan to do primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme. This scheme aims to invest £18 million on new woodland planting each year. We are also encouraging more woodland creation in several other ways. For example, our Woodland Carbon Code continues to attract private investment in woodland creation projects. The Forestry Commission is also leading an Environmental Impact Assessment project in Durham to help give clarity to landowners on where a full Environmental Statement may be required for afforestation, which may be deterring some landowners from planting new woodland. We will also help increase demand for wood by supporting forestry businesses to further increase their competitiveness, productivity and innovation, through other schemes under the Rural Development Programme. We remain strongly supportive of sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy, in their work to grow demand for wood by further developing and strengthening the woodland economy from ground level up.

Floods: Insurance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what date she plans that the flood reinsurance scheme will be fully operational.

Rory Stewart: Flood Re is on schedule to be established and begin its operational testing phase by July 2015. It will be a matter for the Flood Re team itself to determine when the scheme is ready to accept policies following authorisation by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. We understand that the Flood Re team expect this to be in April 2016. Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by the Statement of Principles which ensures continued access to flood insurance until Flood Re is fully operational.  Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by the Statement of Principles which ensures continued access to flood insurance until Flood Re is fully operational.

Flood Control: Finance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) budget, (b) outturn and (c) end-of-year surplus was for flood and coastal risk management in her Department in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Rory Stewart: All information on historical funding and spending for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) can be found on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/401305/Central_Government_Funding_for_Flood_and_Coastal_Erosion_Risk_Management_in_England_feb_2015.pdf.All Government funding for FCERM has to be used in the year it is allocated. Defra accrued no surpluses or deficits during the period as all funding provided was used.Details of spend for the financial year 2014/15 cannot be provided until Defra’s Annual Report and Accounts have been signed off and laid before Parliament.

Flood Control: Finance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) budget, (b) outturn and (c) end-of-year surplus was for flood asset maintenance in her Department in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Rory Stewart: The table below shows the budget for asset maintenance activities for each year from 2010/11 to 2014/15. The actual spend on asset maintenance is in line with the budget for each year, excluding 2014/15. Information on actual spending for the final year cannot be confirmed until the Environment Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts have been signed off and laid before Parliament.The figure for 2014/15 includes the additional maintenance funding provided by Defra in the wake of flooding over winter 2013/14.Financial YearTotal (£M)2010/111682011/121562012/131702013/141472014/15171

WaterSure

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the number of low-income families not covered by the WaterSure scheme; and if she will extend eligibility to low-income households containing one parent and two children.

Rory Stewart: WaterSure is the national mandated tariff that all water companies provide to support metered customers on low incomes that have unavoidably high water use. It is not the purpose of WaterSure to support all vulnerable customers. The Government has no plans to amend the eligibility criteria.   The Government recognises that some customers face affordability pressures and that this varies greatly by region. Consequently, the water companies are best placed to discuss these issues with their customers and to agree on the design of any support schemes (e.g. social tariffs). This will help ensure that they take account of local circumstances and the needs of customers.   To assist the water companies the Government has published guidance on the introduction of social tariffs. Using this guidance, the water companies have been able to introduce social tariffs since April 2013. Alongside this the water companies also offer customer assistance funds, support tariffs, debt advice and support with water efficiency.   From April there are now 14 water companies offering social tariffs to their customers and we anticipate the remaining four companies to introduce them within the next two years. Ofwat’s 2014 Price Review predicts that water companies will be helping around 1.8 million customers by 2020, which is more than double the 760,000 customers that currently receive assistance.

Food: Balance of Trade

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the balance of trade in foodstuffs was in (a) the last year for which figures are available, (b) 2005 and (c) 1995.

George Eustice: The United Kingdom balance of trade in food, feed and drink was a deficit of £20.76 billion in 2014. Expressed in 2014 prices, the deficit in 2005 was £16.60 billion, and in 1995 it was £9.72 billion.

Seals

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to require fishermen to record the number of seals they slaughter.

Rory Stewart: I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 15 June 2015, PQ 1799. Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has a duty to provide scientific advice to government on matters related to the management of seal populations including seal population trends. The cause or causes of any unanticipated significant population declines would be investigated. Common and grey seal populations in England have increased over the last ten years. There is no evidence to suggest that the limited local control of seals permitted in England is having an adverse effect on the conservation status of England’s seal populations or the UK seal population as a whole. The Conservation of Seals Act 1970 strikes a proportionate balance between the conservation and welfare of the seals and the needs of those impacted by individual problem seals. We have no plans to review this legislative protection.

Food: Exports

Craig Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to promote British food and drink exports.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to promote British food and drink exports.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to promote British food and drink exports.

Elizabeth Truss: The agri-food sector is worth over £100bn and employs one in eight people. The food and drink manufacturing sector – largest in the UK - exported nearly £19bn last year, including chocolates to Belgium, pork to China and chillies to India. Supporting and encouraging businesses to take the opportunities that exporting presents is one of my Department’s top priorities. Officials are working with the industry and UKTI to develop a new Action Plan.

Home Office

Telephone Tapping

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to prevent rogue mobile telephone towers being set up to listen to people's calls without their knowledge.

Mr John Hayes: The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 makes it an offence for a person to interfere with wireless telegraphy or to use wireless telegraphy with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of a message of which neither he nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient, without lawful authority.Investigative activity involving interference with property or wireless telegraphy is regulated by the Police Act 1997 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994 which sets out the high level of authorisation required before the police or security and intelligence agencies can undertake such activity. Use of these powers is overseen by the Intelligence Services Commissioner and the Office of Surveillance Commissioners.

UK Border Force

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff were employed in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in (i) May 2010 and (ii) June 2015; and how many staff are expected to be so employed on 31 March 2016.

James Brokenshire: Border Force was formed in March 2012. There are no comparable figures before that date. (Please see attached table.) Staffing forecast figures for 2016 are not finalised and are subject to adjustments based on operational demand and future budgets.



FTE staff in Border Force as at 31 March 2012
(Word Document, 50.5 KB)

Electronic Surveillance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 March 2015, HCWS401, when the Government plans to respond to the Special Report of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Privacy and Security: A modern and transparent legal framework, HC 1075.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make the proposed Investigatory Powers Bill subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (b) the Information Commissioner on the proposed Investigatory Powers Bill.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (b) the Information Commissioner on the adequacy of existing privacy safeguards and proposals for new communications data legislation.

Mr John Hayes: As my Right Honourable Friend, the Home Secretary, said in her statement to the House on 11 June (Col 1354), the Government will need to give further consideration to the detail of both David Anderson’s recommendations and those in the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report published in March, which collectively provide a firm basis for consultation on legislation. The Government will publish a draft bill in the Autumn for pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of Parliament, with the intention of introducing a Bill early in the New Year. The Home Office has regular contact with the offices of both the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Information Commissioner in relation to their statutory oversight responsibilities, which include the adequacy of existing safeguards and how they could be improved. The Interception of Communications Commissioner published his response to the David Anderson report on 11 June 2015 and has contributed to both the David Anderson and the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Privacy and Security Review.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what further resources the Government plans to offer to the international effort to save the lives of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean her Department plans to allow to resettle in the UK.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will increase the number of resettlement places offered to migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean.

James Brokenshire: The Government has no plans to relocate to the UK any migrants who have entered another EU country illegally. Our position on EU proposals for compulsory relocation of asylum seekers is clear: it is the wrong response and would simply move the problem around Europe rather than dealing with it at source.We are increasing our support and protection for those who need it. The UK Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme (VPR) was launched in January 2014, to provide protection – including torture survivors and women and children at risk - who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. 187 have been resettled in the UK in just over a year and more arrive each month in the UK. And we have granted asylum to over 4000 Syrians since the start of the humanitarian crisis there. The UK has already settled over 6000 refugees over the past 10 years in direct cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees under the Gateway programme. We are of course one of five EU countries that takes in 75% of all asylum seekers coming to Europe.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received from European officials concerning the migrant situation in the Mediterranean.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many permanent residence cards were issued to non-EEA nationals who were (a) family or (b) extended family members of EEA nationals living in the UK in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The available information is given in the table below: Permanent Residence cards granted to Non-EEA dependant relatives of EEA nationals resident in the United Kingdom after 5 years living in the UK.Year Number of grants2012 6,7032013 7,9512014 9,962Source: Immigration Statistics table ee_02Grants: The issue of documentation under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006The latest Home Office immigration statistics, on decisions in Residence Document applications by nationality, are published in Immigration Statistics January to March 2015, table ee_02 (European Economic Area tables), which is available from the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseA copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Visas

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK residence cards were issued to non-EEA nationals who were (a) family or (b) extended family members of EEA nationals living in the UK in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The available information is given in the table below: Residence cards granted to Non-EEA dependant relatives of EEA nationals resident in the United KingdomYear Number of grants2012 17,2742013 22,5712014 26,625Source: Immigration Statistics table ee_02Grants: The issue of documentation under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006The latest Home Office immigration statistics, on decisions in Residence Document applications by nationality, are published in Immigration Statistics January to March 2015, table ee_02 (European Economic Area tables), which is available from the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseA copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

HM Treasury

Royal Bank of Scotland

Stuart McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an independent review of the Government's stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: Earlier this month, the Chancellor wrote to the Governor of the Bank of England seeking his advice on when and how the return of the Government’s stake in RBS to the private sector should be undertaken; in view of the wide range of implications for financial stability, growth, and achieving the best returns for the taxpayer.   In his reply, the Governor stated that “it is in the public interest for the Government to begin now to return RBS to private ownership”, and warned that there could be considerable net costs to taxpayers of further delays to the start of a sale. This is also the conclusion of an independent review the Chancellor has commissioned on the issue, undertaken by Rothschild investment bank. The advice and the independent report have both been published online at www.gov.uk.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Stuart McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that any review of the Government's stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (a) includes representation and consultation with all stakeholders and (b) assesses the costs and benefits of all available options, including alternatives to reprivatisation.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor has previously set out his objectives for the banks in state ownership, including Royal Bank of Scotland. We want to get the best value for money for the taxpayer; and we want to return them to private ownership. This policy is supported by recent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England that “it is in the public interest for the Government to begin now to return RBS to the private sector”, and that “there could be considerable net costs to taxpayers of further delaying the start of a sale”.

Banks: North Wales

Susan Elan Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet senior management of NatWest Bank to urge them to re-consider their decision to closes branches in Llangollen, Corwen and other communities in North Wales; and what steps his Department is taking to support high street banks in communities in North Wales.

Harriett Baldwin: Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy. The Government is committed to increasing competition to deliver innovation and good financial products and services for all bank customers, and part of the Government’s long term economic plan is to ensure that banks serve all sections of society. The government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, a bank must carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. The steps include establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting satisfactory alternative measures in place before a branch is closed.

Financial Conduct Authority

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Thirteenth Report of the Treasury Committee, Session 2014-15, Press briefing of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) business plan for 2014-15, published 17 March 2015, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the FCA is fulfilling its statutory objectives.

Harriett Baldwin: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent from Government and carries out is functions within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament.   Under the Financial Services Act 2012 (“the Act”) the FCA is required to prepare an annual report on its performance against its statutory objectives.   A copy of the FCA Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14 can be found at the following address - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-conduct-authority-annual-report-2013-to-2014

Employment: Huddersfield

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase employment in Huddersfield.

Harriett Baldwin: Unemployment in Huddersfield is at its lowest since 2008. In February the Chancellor laid out his Long-term Economic Plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire – a crucial step in building the Northern Powerhouse. The plan aims to raise the employment rate of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire so that over 100,000 more people are in employment there during this Parliament. This will be achieved by backing business start-ups and business growth and investment, through projects like the new, Growth-Deal funded, Incubation and Innovation Centre at Huddersfield University which will support jobs growth in the advanced manufacturing and digital and creative sectors.

Bank Services: Older People

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to make banking accessible to elderly people who do not have access to the internet.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government is committed to improving access to financial services for all, including the elderly. Banks’ and building societies’ treatment of their customers is currently governed by the Financial Conduct Authority in its Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook. The Sourcebook includes a general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all of their customers. This includes older people, the disabled, and those who may lack the capacity to manage their account on their own. Initiatives are also in place to support elderly and vulnerable customers who need the assistance of a carer to help them manage their money. Elderly customers who do not have access to the internet may be more reliant on their local bank branch. To support continued access to banking services where local branches close, the Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015 requires a bank to carry out a number of steps including carrying out community engagement such as considering the age profile of branch users and the number of branch users who may be more dependent on their branch for reasons such as digital exclusion. Further steps include finding suitable alternative provision; and putting satisfactory alternative measures in place before a branch is closed.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects registration for tax-free childcare to open; and what information parents will be required to input in order to complete that registration.

Damian Hinds: The Government remains committed to bringing forward Tax-Free Childcare to help working families. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out the timing of the introduction as part of his Budget.   Registering for the new scheme is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents and will use a new simple online system. They will be asked to identify themselves and the child for whom the childcare account is being opened, and to provide information to demonstrate their eligibility, for example confirming that they are in paid employment or self-employment.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

David Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to rebalance the economy and create a Northern Powerhouse.

Harriett Baldwin: The government has undertaken a range of efforts to pursue its Northern Powerhouse agenda and to rebalance the economy of the country.   Last November, the Chancellor signed an historic devolution agreement with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and included a Cities Devolution Bill in the Queen’s Speech in May which will allow tailoring of the deal to other cities of the North subject to governance arrangements. On 14th May, the Chancellor announced that he will work with the great towns and counties of the North to agree County Deals, so all places have a chance to benefit.   Additionally, the government has announced plans for a range of transport investments in the region. These include the creation of Transport of the North, who will devise a Northern Transport Strategy, and plans to develop HS3. Small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures will also benefit through government support across a range of areas, including investments made in tech incubators, financial and commercial advice from the British Business Bank, through the government’s Enterprise Zone programme and through supporting sector specific strengths in the region such as through investments in Health science.   The North is currently growing faster per person than London, but we will go further still in rebalancing the economy

Fuels: Excise Duties

Mr David Anderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the level of fuel duties.

Damian Hinds: At Budget 2015 the government cancelled the fuel duty increase that was planned for 1 September 2015, thereby freezing fuel duty until the end of 2015-16. Like all taxes, fuel duties are kept under review in the context of the wider public finances, with tax policy changes announced at fiscal events.

Economic Growth

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England about promoting economic growth and financial stability across the whole of the UK.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues on the UK economy.   In addition to these discussions, after the publication of each Financial Stability Report the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England are required by the Bank of England Act 1998 (as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012) to meet to discuss the Report and other matters related to financial stability. The minutes of the meeting held to discuss the December 2014 FSR were published on HM Treasury’s website and can be found at the following website link.   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/record-of-financial-stability-report-meeting-february-2015

Right to Buy Scheme

Mr Clive Betts: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Office of National Statistics on the potential effects on the classification of housing association debt of extending the right to buy to housing association tenants.

Damian Hinds: The government has announced that it will extend Right to Buy to over 1 million Housing Association tenants in England. This represents a significant step towards the Government’s commitment to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The government will be implementing this through the Housing bill announced in the Queen’s speech and is working with appropriate stakeholders to ensure the success of the policy.

Lloyds Bank

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects the next tranche of the share sale of Lloyds Bank to take place; and what steps he plans to take to ensure the widest share ownership.

Harriett Baldwin: On 1 June 2015 the Chancellor extended the successful trading plan, which will continue to dispose of Lloyds shares into the market until no later than 31 December 2015.   The Government has also announced that a sale to include retail investors will take place within the next twelve months

Fiscal Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help people keep more of their earnings.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government is committed to raising the income tax personal allowance from £10,600 to £12,500 by the end of this parliament. We will go further and ensure that, in the future, individuals working 30 hours at the national minimum wage will not pay income tax.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the role employers play in the delivery of tax-free childcare.

Damian Hinds: Details about the role for employers in delivering Tax-Free Childcare can be found in Chapter 4 of ‘Delivering Tax-Free Childcare: the Government’s response to the consultation on design and operation’:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318953/PU1607_Tax_free_Childcare_response.pdf

Royal Bank of Scotland

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the independent advice he received on the sale of the Government's stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: In announcing the sale of the Government’s shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland, the Chancellor is acting on independent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and a report from Rothschild investment bank. The report by Rothschild, and the corresponding advice from the Governor, are both available online at www.gov.uk.

Public Expenditure

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice he has taken from (a) economists independent of Government and (b) Treasury economists on whether public spending cuts will delay or promote economic growth.

Harriett Baldwin: Treasury ministers consider a range of representations, and advice, as part of the policymaking process.For example, Mr Angel Gurria, the Secretary-General of the OECD, said in February 2015 "The United Kingdom is a textbook case of best practice on how good labour and product markets can support growth and job creation. So my main message to you today is "well done and keep going with the plan!"

Royal Bank of Scotland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the sale of the Government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: In announcing the sale of the Government’s shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland, the Chancellor is acting on independent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and a report from Rothschild investment bank. The report by Rothschild, and the corresponding advice from the Governor, are both available online at www.gov.uk.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), (b) NatWest Bank and (c) Ulster Bank on the sale of the Government's stake in RBS.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor did not discuss the sale of the Government’s shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group with RBS, NatWest Bank or Ulster Bank.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the sale of the Government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland on (a) customers of Ulster Bank and (b) other customers.

Harriett Baldwin: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is a commercial company, in which the Government is a currently a shareholder. The Government’s shareholdings are managed on an arm’s length basis by UK Financial Investments (UKFI). However, UKFI’s role is to manage the shareholdings, not to manage the bank. Irrespective of shareholder makeup, and in common with all UK banks, RBS is subject to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Banking Conduct Regime, which covers the treatment of customers, including the customers of Ulster Bank. RBS is required to fully comply with this regime going forward.

Pensions

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the availability of income drawdown products for savers.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure savers can access retirement savings under the new pensions flexibilities.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of savers to make the most of retirement savings of charges on (a) drawndown products and (b) switching retirement income products.

Harriett Baldwin: In order to ensure that all savers can access their retirement income more flexibly, the government has legislated in two ways: first, it has allowed pension schemes to override their previous scheme rules so that they are able to offer new flexible options; and second, it has strengthened the right of individuals to transfer savings between defined contribution schemes at any age up to retirement. This means that if a provider does not offer a particular product, such as flexi-access drawdown, their members have the right to move to a scheme which does.   The Financial Conduct Authority, in line with its remit to protect consumers and ensure markets function in consumers’ interests, has specifically committed to monitoring developments in the retirement income market closely and to take action where consumers are coming to harm or where the market is not operating competitively. This could include if it finds evidence of excessive charges.

Economic Growth

Debbie Abrahams: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of economic inequalities on growth.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK was the fastest growing G7 economy in 2014 and the OECD forecasts that we will be so again in 2015. At the same time, UK income inequality is lower than it was in 2010-11 and living standards are forecast to be higher than they have ever been this year.

Mortgages

James Cartlidge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on the proportion of residential mortgage lending that was on (a) an interest-only and (b) a capital repayment basis in each year since 1997.

James Cartlidge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on the proportion of buy-to-let mortgage lending that was on (a) an interest-only and (b) a capital repayment basis in each year since 1997.

Harriett Baldwin: The Treasury does not hold any information on the proportions of interest-only mortgages and capital repayment mortgages for residential properties or buy-to-let.   The FCA in conjunction with the Bank of England publish the Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Return (MLAR) statistics quarterly. In their most recent MLAR (Quarter 1 2015) interest-only mortgages accounted for 8.61 per cent of all regulated residential mortgages.   The latest report (which has data back to 2007) can be found in the following link: www.bankofengland.co.uk/pra/Documents/regulatorydata/mlar/2015/q1longrundetailed.xlsThere is no data separating the proportion of interest-only mortgages and capital repayment mortgages within buy-to-let.

Food Supply

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the fiscal incentives in the UK for the redistribution of edible surplus food to people in need; and if  he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The Government encourages the food industry to forge closer links with redistribution charities, and supports the actions and public commitment on redistribution made by some retailers.

Individual Savings Accounts

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a Green ISA scheme to encourage public engagement with, and inject capital into, the green economy.

Harriett Baldwin: The government currently has no plans to introduce a new Green ISA scheme. However, individuals can already invest in green products using the existing ISA structure as we have expanded ISA eligible investments to include a wider range of products such as AIM shares and soon, peer-to-peer loans.

Debt Collection

Luciana Berger: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has paid to Fredrickson International for the provision of debt collection services by that company.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are unable to provide commercially sensitive information about the value of individual contracts.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fuel Poverty

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many fuel-poor households there are for which her Department plans to fund insulation measures over the next five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is fully committed to tackling fuel poverty in England, including meeting the 2030 target now enshrined in law.Decisions on future energy bill and energy efficiency support for consumers have not yet been taken. The Government will be guided by the fuel poverty strategy published in March 2015, which sets out a clear policy of working towards improving energy efficiency standards across the English housing stock, including in the homes of the fuel poor.In the meantime, the Energy Company Obligation, currently in place to March 2017, will support insulation and heating measures in fuel poor homes. The Impact Assessment is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/373650/ECO_IA_with_SoS_e-sigf_v2.pdf.This year, we are also delivering a £25m central heating fund focused on increased support for those in fuel poverty off the mains gas grid.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when her Department plans to issue its request to local authorities to measure and report on their annual greenhouse gas emissions data.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department intends to remind local authorities of the request to measure and publish on their websites 2014/15 greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations shortly.

Fracking: Monitoring

Mr Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the Environment Agency on post-abandonment monitoring of onshore shale gas wells; and what steps she plans to take to ensure a monitoring regime is in place.

Andrea Leadsom: The duration of monitoring required after decommissioning/well closure will be assessed on a site-by-site basis by the Environment Agency. The environmental permit requires the operator to have in place a closure and rehabilitation plan, which must be agreed with the Environment Agency before decommissioning begins. The operator will not be allowed to surrender their permit until the Environment Agency is satisfied that there is no-ongoing risk to the environment.

Cabinet Office

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 3 June 2015 to Question 321 and of 11 June 2015 to Question 1056, what roles are performed by personnel involved in delivering the residential phase of the National Citizens Service programme; and what qualifications are required to fulfil each such role.

Mr Rob Wilson: NCS is delivered by a supply chain of over 200 organisations. Each organisation can tailor their offer based on their own expertise and resources to maximise the positive impact of the programme. As such, a wide range of roles and activities are performed by delivery personnel all of whom must be appropriately skilled and possess such qualifications as required to fulfil their roles.

Youth Services

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authority-funded youth services are maintained at their current level.

Mr Rob Wilson: It is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how to allocate funding for youth services, according to local need. There is an existing statutory duty on local authorities through Education Act 2006 (Section 507B) to secure, as far as is practicable, sufficient services and activities to improve the wellbeing of young people.We continue to offer practical support to the youth sector by promoting innovative delivery models for youth services and supporting organisations to measure their impact and demonstrate their value.

Debts

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of aggregate household debt in (a) the UK, (b) the East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - Household Debt
(PDF Document, 72.91 KB)

Productivity

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's productivity statistics.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - UK's Productivity Stats
(PDF Document, 169.55 KB)

Honours

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a list of people who have rejected honours since 1999.

Matthew Hancock: Between 1999 and 2005, the following people who are now deceased have refused honours on the Prime Minister’s List. We release only the names of those who we know to be deceased and where the award was made more than 10 years ago.George Harrison New Year 2000Iain Banks New Year 2001George Melly Birthday 2001Stuart McPhail Hall Birthday 2004

Digital Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2015 to Question 1492, what the proportionate baseline is for the goal of reducing the proportion of UK adults who lack basic digital skills by 25 per cent by 2016; and until what year he plans to reduce that proportion by a further 25 per cent.

Matthew Hancock: The proportionate baseline was the 20% of the adult population who lacked basic digital skills in March/May 2014, as measured by BBC research.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Cycling

Diana Johnson: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, how much was spent on the upgrade work to the North Entrance to the parliamentary estate in the last Parliament; for what reason cyclists are forbidden from using that entrance; and whether a safety assessment was made of the potential implications of excluding cyclists from that entrance.

Sir Paul Beresford: The cost of the work for the North Estate (Curtis Green) entrance, including anti-vehicle barriers, security cabin and specialist security equipment, totalled £613,069, with 60% being charged to the House of Commons and 40% to the House of Lords. The work took place between 2010 and 2012.The entrance was designed to be dedicated for vehicles, including large heavy goods vehicles, entering/exiting the estate. The cycle entry gate was installed at Derby Gate, as a separate project, as this entrance has the width safely to incorporate vehicles, cycles and pedestrians, whereas Curtis Green is narrower.There is no formal assessment made on the potential safety implications for excluding cyclists from the Curtis Green entrance.

Parliament: Bicycles

Diana Johnson: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the provision of covered cycle rack spaces on the parliamentary estate.

Sir Paul Beresford: As part of the Parliamentary Green Travel Plan the number of cycle parking spaces on the Parliamentary Estate has increased significantly since 2012. There are currently 417 spaces on the Estate – including House of Lords areas – of which 269 are covered. This compares to 176 in 2012 (94 covered). 30 of the additional covered spaces are in the basement of 14 Tothill Street, which is a building occupied by House staff only. Additional facilities available for cyclists on the Estate include periodic "Dr. Bike" free maintenance checks, bicycle tools and pumps. There is also a docking station on Abingdon Green for the Transport for London cycle hire scheme.

Parliament: Bicycles

Diana Johnson: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the House is taking to remove bicycles left on cycle racks on the estate.

Sir Paul Beresford: In order to make space available to as many cyclists as possible, the Administration Committee agreed a bicycle parking policy in February 2014. Owners of bicycles wishing to park in the Colonnade or Star Chamber Court are required to display a numbered plastic tag obtainable from the Hall Keeper’s Lodge. Bicycles parked in those areas during sitting periods not displaying a tag will eventually be removed. Untagged bicycles which have not been claimed are put into storage on the Estate. Once put into storage, bicycles which are still not claimed after two months will be given to charity. This policy is being continued in the current parliament and new tags will be available from Hall Keeper’s Lodge shortly.

Department of Health

Cancer: Health Education

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with Public Health England on the types of cancers that it will include in potential local pilot tests within the Be Clear on Cancer programme; and whether it is proposed that cervical cancer will be included in that programme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will request Public Health England to extend its planned symptoms campaigns, as part of the Public Health England Marketing Strategy for 2014-17, to include cervical cancer symptoms.

Jane Ellison: Earlier diagnosis is essential to improving cancer survival and Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) campaigns, which aim to raise awareness of the symptoms of specific cancers, and to encourage people with symptoms to see their doctor promptly, form an integral part of the Public Health England Marketing Plan for 2014-17 which was published in July 2014.   The decision on which cancers should be the focus of BCOC campaigns is informed by a steering group chaired by NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer. Membership of the group includes primary care clinicians and representatives from the Department; Public Health England (PHE - Marketing team and the National Cancer Intelligence Network); NHS England; NHS Improving Quality; Cancer Research UK; Macmillan Cancer Support; and other stakeholders. A number of factors are taken into account when deciding which campaigns to develop and run, with one of the main criteria being the number of deaths that could be avoided through earlier diagnosis. The focus for national campaigns so far has therefore been on bowel, breast (in women over 70), bladder/kidney, lung, oesophageal and stomach (oesophago-gastric) cancers.   PHE has announced that a repeat of the national breast cancer campaign for women aged 70 and over will run in the summer from 13 July to 6 September 2015. Decisions on further BCOC campaign activity in 2015/16 will be made in due course based on evidence from previous campaigns.   PHE working with the Department, NHS England and other partners will continue to keep these campaigns under review and work with relevant experts to see what might be done to tackle other types of cancer.

Leukaemia: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the British Medical Association and other medical bodies the treatment of leukemia with T-cells.

George Freeman: The use of innovative T-cell therapies, including CAR-T cells, to treat specific forms of leukaemia is a rapidly developing field. Clinical trials have shown that CAR-T cell therapy has been effective in treating small numbers of patients where other forms of treatment have failed to be effective. The Department will maintain close dialogue with key medical groups as this technology develops.

Department of Health: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect on productivity of delivering efficiency savings from his Department's budget.

Alistair Burt: As part of wider Government action on deficit reduction, the Department will deliver savings of £200 million in 2015/16 from a reduction in the Local Government Public Health Grant. We will be consulting on the best way of delivering the savings that need to be made, which will take account of and mitigate any adverse impact on productivity.

Lyme Disease: Screening

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to improve the accuracy of tests for Lyme disease.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has an on-going evaluation programme of new Lyme tests and a new research programme in conjunction with University of Liverpool. PHE and the National Health Service are committed to using a test for which reproducible validation data exists, supported by evidence in peer reviewed publications. PHE participates in the European External Quality Assurance (EQA) scheme for Lyme disease testing which provides an independent assessment of performance. EQA is a mandatory requirement for all laboratory testing in the NHS as part of best practice. New assay systems will only be introduced if they can be shown to enhance the diagnosis of Lyme disease through scientifically conducted studies.

Arthritis

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, published in 2009, emphasises the need for early diagnosis, with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis.   NICE also published a quality standard on rheumatoid arthritis in June 2013. Quality standards are concise sets of prioritised statements designed to drive measurable quality improvements within a particular area of health or care. The standard makes seven statements which are indicators of good care. This includes a statement on referral that sets out that people with suspected rheumatoid arthritis are referred to a rheumatology service within three working days of presentation. It also includes a statement on assessment which recommends that people with suspected rheumatoid arthritis are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral.   In March this year Public Health England and the Department ran a local pilot campaign to raise awareness of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms in Nottingham City and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Groups. The aim of the campaign was to support earlier diagnosis and treatment to improve the quality of life for people with rheumatoid arthritis and an assessment is being made of its effectiveness.

Mental Health Services: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health beds are provided in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.

Alistair Burt: The number of mental health beds provided in the West Midlands is not centrally collected.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements his Department has in place to assist mental health trusts when no beds are available for the provision of mental health care.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements mental health and NHS trusts have in place to provide mental health care when no mental health care beds are available.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not have arrangements for bed management as this is the responsibility of local commissioners and providers.   However, the Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those that need them.   Hospital, step-down and community services should be commissioned at a level that allows for beds to be readily and locally available in response to a person in urgent need, as required by statute.   As to arrangements in place between mental health trusts when no beds are available, this is a matter for local commissioners and providers.   This is underpinned by the Government’s legislation on party esteem for the first time, and significant investment in mental health services.

NHS: Cygnet Health Care

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contractual arrangements exist between NHS mental health services and Cygnet Health Care.

Alistair Burt: NHS England holds a NHS standard contract with Cygnet Healthcare. The contract is managed by the South of England Team for all provision across England. The contract is managed in accordance with its terms.   Any local contracts with Cygnet Healthcare are likely to be subcontracted by mental health provider trusts. Details of these are not held centrally.

Dementia

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support dementia patients and their families.

Jane Ellison: Dementia is an important priority for this Government across England and we are committed to ensuring people with dementia and their families receive the best possible support in all settings. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015. The 2020 Challenge aims to identify what needs to be done to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020 and sets key aspirations aimed at improving support which include: - In every part of the country people with dementia having equal access to diagnosis as for other conditions, with an expectation that the national average for an initial assessment should be six weeks following a referral from a general practitioner (where clinically appropriate), and that no one should be waiting several months for an initial assessment of dementia. - Every person diagnosed with dementia having meaningful care following their diagnosis, which supports them and those around them, with meaningful care being in accordance with published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standards. - Information on what post-diagnosis services are available locally and how these can be accessed, through for example an annual ‘information prescription’. - Access to relevant advice and support to help and advice on what happens after a diagnosis and the support available through the journey. - Carers of people with dementia being made aware of and offered the opportunity for respite, education, training, emotional and psychological support so that they feel able to cope with their caring responsibilities and to have a life alongside caring. - All NHS staff having received training on dementia appropriate to their role. - All hospitals and care homes meeting agreed criteria to becoming a dementia friendly health and care setting.   These aspirations build on the progress already made since the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015, including improvements in timely diagnosis and the creation of over 1 million Dementia Friends in England. On 1 April 2015, we put in place a new Dementia Directed Enhanced Service (to reward practices for facilitating timely diagnosis and support for people with dementia. It also includes an offer of a health check for carers and signposting to relevant information, advice and support. In the hospital setting, through the Dementia Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) reward, with over 4,200 referrals a month, it is clear that more people with dementia in hospitals are being identified and assessed. Between April 2013 and April 2015 there have been 101,402 referrals as a result of the introduction of this CQUIN goal. In April 2015, councils and clinical commissioning groups began pooling local budgets in line with their Better Care Fund plans. Some areas have chosen to measure their progress in the provision of integrated care by the improving the diagnosis rate for people with dementia and it is expected that this will be linked to improved care and support for people with dementia through the provision of such services as dementia advisors, reminiscence services and counselling. The Dementia Roadmap can be accessed by families and carers. It is a web based platform that provides high quality information about the dementia journey alongside local information about services, support groups and care pathways, primarily to assist primary care staff to more effectively support people with dementia, their families and carers. On March 2015, the Government published its mandate to Health Education England (HEE). It set the ambition that HEE will have ensured that over 350,000 NHS staff have received Tier 1 dementia training and are continuing to roll out the training across the existing NHS workforce. Moreover, HEE will ensure that the Tier 1 tools and training opportunities are available to all staff by the end of 2018. Currently, 515,967 of our NHS staff have received Tier 1 training, exceeding the 350,000 ambition, and over 100,000 social care workers have received some form of dementia awareness training. From 1 April 2015, newly appointed healthcare assistants and social care support workers, including those providing care and support to people with dementia and their carers, will be expected to undertake the Care Certificate within their first 12 weeks of employment, by undertaking learning and demonstrating their competence in 15 Care Certificate Standards.

Childbirth: Gender

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2015 to Question 20, what methodology his Department plans to use to monitor gender ratios at birth; and if he will consider using the same analytical methods used by Coleman and Dubuc in their 2007 paper, An increase in the sex ratio of births to India-born mothers in England and Wales: evidence for sex-selective abortion.

Jane Ellison: The methodology which the Department will use to monitor birth ratios will be the same methodology utilised in the May 2014 birth ratio publication. The Department will continue to take into consideration published research including that by Dubuc and Coleman.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what reports he has received of other developed countries legalising germ-line modification of the type permitted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations.

Jane Ellison: Information is not routinely collected by the Department about other countries’ approaches to preventing the transmission of serious mitochondrial disease from mother to child.

Self-harm

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of self-harm.

Alistair Burt: Self-harm is a symptom of serious emotional distress which must be acted upon to ensure people get the help they need.   The Department funds the multicentre study of self-harm, which provides monitoring data on self-harm, and underpins knowledge about self-harm in England. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on the short-term and longer term management of self-harm cite many outputs from the study.   Self-harm can occur at any age but is most common in adolescence and young adulthood. While many acts of self-harm do not come to the attention of healthcare services, where they do, it is generally at a point of crisis.   We asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to investigate people’s experiences of help, care and support during a mental health crisis. The CQC’s report makes it clear that there is still more to do to make sure everyone is treated compassionately in the right place and at the right time. The CQC highlighted that staff attitudes were not always helpful, particularly where people were repeatedly presenting in crisis with self-harm, and that this has implications for risks of self-harm when people are not seen quickly or compassionately enough to stop crises from escalating.   We have increased investment in mental health. Spending on mental health was estimated to increase by £302 million in 2014/15, with total mental health spending rising from £11.362 billion in 2013/14 to £11.664 billion planned in 2014/15, an increase of 0.6% in real terms. We have also introduced the first treatment targets to make sure people get the prompt support they need and mental health is treated on the same terms as physical health.   This Government is committed to making children and young people’s mental health a high priority. The Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme is being expanded to cover children and young people across England by 2018 and include additional areas of clinical practice. This will involve additional clinical staff being trained in the most effective evidence based treatment for self-harm, depression and anxiety.

Department of Health: Employment Agencies

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which recruitment agencies have received the five largest allocations of funding from (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The Department, its executive agencies and associated bodies do not allocate funding to recruitment agencies.

Speech Therapy

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to clinical commissioning groups on the commissioning of speech and language therapy.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what national guidelines his Department has issued on provision of speech and language therapy.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not issue guidance to clinical commissioning groups on the commissioning arrangements or provision of speech and language therapy.   NHS England has responsibility for issuing guidance to clinical commissioning groups, though it has not issued any guidance on speech and language therapy.   Clinical commissioning groups are required to take into account guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which contains systematically-developed recommendations based on the best available evidence, to guide decisions for a particular area of health. For example, the NICE Stroke rehabilitation guidelines recommend several services for people with stroke to be provided by speech and language therapists, such as providing direct impairment-based therapy to improve communication.

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on mental health services in (a) York Central constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on infrastructure related to mental health services in (a) York Central constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years; and what such investment is planned in the current year.

Alistair Burt: Funding for mental health services is not allocated per constituency.   The estimated expenditure on mental health services by primary care trusts (PCTs) in England between 2008/09 and 2012/13 is set out in the following table:   Estimated expenditure on Mental Health, all PCTs   Financial YearExpenditure £ billion2008/099.792009/1010.612010/1110.962011/1211.162012/1311.28   Source: PCT Programme Budgeting Returns   Total National Health Service spending on mental health services in 2013/14 was estimated at around £11.4 billion and planned spend for 2014/15 was estimated at around £11.7 billion.   The Department does not hold information on all spending on health infrastructure for the York Central constituency. However, we have been informed by NHS England that the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group has recently invested £2.9 million to redevelop Bootham Park Hospital which will see improvements to Cherry Tree House Unit.

Mental Health Services: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS staff work in mental health services in York Central constituency; and how many such staff have been employed for at least five years.

Ben Gummer: This information is not available in the format requested.   The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes NHS England trust level staffing data on a monthly basis, which can be found at:   www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/provisionalmonthlyhchsworkforce

NHS: Foreign Nationals

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) doctors, (b) dentists, (c) nursing staff, (d) scientists, (e) personnel in professionals allied to medicine, (f) pharmacists, (g) personnel in other registrant professions and (h) total staff were recruited from overseas to work in the NHS in each year since 2005.

Ben Gummer: The Department does not collect this information. It is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver services for the health needs of their local population.

Health Professions: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) school nurses and (d) community mental health nurses there were in York Central constituency in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer: This information is not available in the format requested.   The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes NHS England trust level staffing data on a monthly basis, which can be found at:   www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/provisionalmonthlyhchsworkforce

Defibrillators: Public Places

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he will make available further details on the funding announced in the Budget 2015 for the (a) purchase and (b) provision of training in their use of defibrillators for use in public places.

Jane Ellison: The Department is currently working with relevant stakeholders to determine how best to utilise this funding. More details will be made available in due course.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of abortions (a) for Down's Syndrome, (b) registered under statutory grounds and (c) since his Department's last report.

Jane Ellison: These increases are likely to be as a result of improved data reporting.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if it is his policy that a registered medical practitioner may lawfully sign the statutory HSA1 form before receiving any information from the woman named on that form where a good faith opinion for the purposes of section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act 1967 is formed between the signing of the form and the termination; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Guidance published in May 2014 by the Department, Guidance in Relation to Requirements of the Abortion Act 1967 which is attached, highlighted that it is the Department’s interpretation of the law that both doctors should ensure that they have considered sufficient information specific to the woman seeking a termination to be able to assess whether the woman satisfies one of the lawful grounds under the Abortion Act 1967.   The guidance is also available at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-doctors-on-compliance-with-the-abortion-act

NHS Trusts: Finance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of financial deficits of NHS trusts on safety and quality of care.

Ben Gummer: The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service to provide safe, high quality, sustainable care that provides patients with the care they need and maximises value for money for taxpayers. The Government and its arm’s length bodies are therefore working with NHS organisations to ensure that patient care is safe, high quality and financially sustainable and that swift action is taken when there are significant failings.   The Francis Report and other reports on the quality of care, which highlighted the problems of short-staffing in some parts of the NHS, were followed by increased recruitment, including temporary staff from agencies. We are taking action to ensure that the focus going forward is on employing permanent staff and on making staffing decisions in the most cost effective way to ensure that NHS organisations are providing high care, safe care while living within their budgets.

Department of Health: Cost Effectiveness

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of existing contracts on the deliverability of the savings expected from his Department in 2015-16.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment he has made of the effects on (a) frontline and (b) other public health services of the savings expected from his Department in 2015-16.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what discussions he has had with local authorities about the savings expected from his Department in 2015-16.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to by HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, how he plans to achieve the £200 million savings expected from his Department in 2015-16.

Jane Ellison: We will shortly publish a consultation on how best to implement these savings in ways that minimise impact on services.

Cancer: Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS patients in (a) University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, (b) the West Midlands Trusts and (c) England waited longer than (i) one month and (ii) two months from an urgent referral for suspected cancer to the beginning of treatment in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Data measuring the length of time patients waited from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first treatment for all cancers are collected centrally and published by NHS England at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/

Mental Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve the choice and availability of mental health crisis care services.

Alistair Burt: The Government has put mental health at the centre of its programme of health reform.   We have increased investment in mental health. Spending on mental health was estimated to increase by £302 million in 2014/15, with total mental health spending rising from £11.362 billion in 2013/14 to £11.664 billion planned in 2014/15, an increase of 0.6% in real terms. We have legislated to put mental health on a par with physical health, and close the health gap between people with mental health problems and the population as a whole.   The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out clearly that “we expect NHS England to make rapid progress, working with CCGs and other commissioners, to help deliver on our shared goal to have crisis services that, for an individual, are at all times as accessible, responsive and high quality as other health emergency services.” The Mandate also states that the Government expects “every community to have plans to ensure no one in crisis will be turned away” based on the principles set out in the Crisis Care Concordat. The current NHS England planning guidance for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) makes specific reference to the Concordat.   The Concordat, published in February 2014, is a shared agreement between over 20 national organisations signalling a joint commitment to improving crisis care and describing actions at a national level to support these improvements. Every area in England signed a local declaration committing to the Concordat’s principles before the end of 2014. Detailed action plans are now in place across the country setting out how local partners will work together to adopt these principles and improve crisis care. Many plans include the enhancement of existing services and the development of new services involving a range of partners, including local third sector organisations. All plans are available to view at:   http://www.crisiscareconcordat.org.uk/explore-the-map/

Cancer

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve early cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Jane Ellison: To help diagnose cancer earlier, we have invested over £22 million in Be Clear on Cancer campaigns between 2010-11 and 2014-15. The first national lung cancer campaign led to 700 extra diagnoses and 300 more surgeries during the time of the campaign. NHS England has launched a major early diagnosis programme (Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate – ACE), working jointly with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to test new innovative approaches to identifying cancer more quickly. We are also on track to have all bowel scope screening centres open by December 2016.   We have also made major investments in innovative radiotherapy. The £23 million Radiotherapy Innovation Fund has enabled the NHS to achieve 37% of radiotherapy treatments being given by Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy, which is more precise and has fewer side effects. This is ahead of the target of 24%, and up from 5% in 2010. NHS England has committed £6 million to support six trials of more precise stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), and a further £15 million over three years to evaluate and treat patients with SABR. We have also pledged £250 million for two proton beam therapy (PBT) centres at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which will be operational by 2018.   Over 1.5 million people were urgently referred to a specialist for suspected cancer in 2014-15, an increase of over 645,000 or 71% compared to 2009-10, and a record of nearly 273,000 patients began treatment for cancer, an increase of over 39,000 or 17% compared to 2009-10. In addition 19 million diagnostic tests were carried out, an increase of nearly 4.7 million or nearly 33% compared to 2009-10. This included 1.5 million more non-obstetric ultrasounds, 1 million more magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and 238,000 more endoscopies, all procedures often used to diagnose cancer.   The independent Cancer Taskforce has been set up by NHS England to produce a new cross-system national cancer strategy to take us through the next five years to 2020. The new strategy will set a clear direction covering the whole cancer pathway from prevention to end of life care and will be published in the summer. We will work with the National Health Service, charities and patient groups to deliver the new strategy.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy that opt-outs from care.data will apply to all patients and all flows of data from GP records for all purposes other than the delivery of direct care, regardless of which NHS body or other organisation such data is intended to go to.

George Freeman: Patients can object to their identifiable information leaving their general practitioner (GP) practice for purposes beyond their direct care. If a patient objects, it will prevent identifiable information relating to them from being shared outside of their GP practice for purposes beyond direct care, except in special circumstances allowed by law, such as when there is a public health emergency.

NHS England: BioMarin

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings NHS England has had with the pharmaceutical company BioMarin over the last 12 months; when those meetings took place; and if he will publish the minutes of each such meeting.

George Freeman: NHS England has indicated that since June 2014, its representatives have met with BioMarin on four occasions; 29 July 2014, 21 August 2014, 20 January 2015 and 3 June 2015. With the exception of the Specialised Services Stakeholder Surgery meeting on 20 January 2015, no minutes were taken. A copy of the notes from the meeting held on 20 January 2015 is provided. 



NHS England & BioMarin 20/01/2015 meeting minutes
(PDF Document, 91.02 KB)

Hepatitis

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to expedite the (a) prevention, (b) testing, (c) diagnosis and (d) treatment of hepatitis C.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) is working collaboratively with NHS England, non-government organisations and academic colleagues to pilot models of service delivery and novel testing methods, including point of care testing and alternatives to venepuncture to improve uptake of testing and diagnosis of hepatitis C in community settings, including primary care and drug services.   A number of local areas have drawn up hepatitis C action plans and work programmes to drive improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis C across the United Kingdom.   NHS England has now published a commissioning policy which significantly extends access to the new oral treatments to thousands of hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis. The policy can be found at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/06/hep-c-cirrhosis-polcy-statmnt-0615.pdf   PHE contributes to the development of public health guidance to increase testing for hepatitis C. This includes the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on hepatitis B and C with respect to promoting and offering testing for these infections for people at increased risk of infection. This is available at:   http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PH43   The public health guidance on NICE guidelines on needle and syringe programmes is available at:   https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph52

Maternity Services: Greater London

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of hospitals in London that deliver a full maternity service have 24 hours a day, seven days a week consultant presence on labour wards; and which hospitals meet those criteria.

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of hospitals in England that deliver full maternity service have 24 hours a day, seven days a week consultant presence on labour wards; and which hospitals in each region meet those criteria.

Ben Gummer: This information is not held centrally.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Working Hours

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of hospitals in England that have a Type 1 A&E department have consultant presence on emergency wards for a minimum of 16 hours a day, seven days a week; and which hospitals in each region meet those criteria.

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of hospitals in London that have a Type 1 A&E department have consultant presence on emergency wards for a minimum of 16 hours a day, seven days a week; and which hospitals meet those criteria.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.

Paediatrics: Greater London

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of hospitals in London have paediatric consultants present on children's wards for a minimum of 14 hours a day, seven days a week; and which hospitals meet those criteria.

Ben Gummer: The information requested on the working patterns of paediatric consultants on children’s wards is not collected centrally.

Diabetes

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the evidential basis was for NICE's draft clinical guidelines for the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults.

George Freeman: The evidence considered by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the development of its guidance is available on the NICE website.   The evidence for NICE’s draft clinical guideline on type 1 diabetes is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-cgwaver122/documents and the evidence for NICE’s draft clinical guideline type 2 diabetes is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-cgwave0612/documents

Mental Health Taskforce

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Mental Health Taskforce has made on developing a new five-year national strategy for mental health; with which groups and organisations that taskforce is consulting; when it is expected that taskforce will publish its final report; and whether that taskforce plans to publish an interim report.

Alistair Burt: Formed in March 2015, the principal task of the Mental Health Taskforce is to develop a new five-year all-ages national strategy for mental health. In order to develop the strategy, the Taskforce is exploring the variation in access to and quality of mental health services across England; looking at outcomes for people who are and are not able to access services and consider ways to tackle the prevention of mental health problems.   The Mental Health Taskforce is chaired by Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, and Vice-Chaired by Jacqui Dyer, expert-by-experience. Membership includes senior representatives from partner arm’s length bodies who hold critical responsibilities related to the planning and delivery of care. It also includes representatives from the third sector, providers and professional bodies. Members of the Taskforce hold responsibility to ensure that there is cross-system commitment and alignment in developing a national strategy and that continued partnership, working effectively and meaningfully, delivers the strategy.   The Taskforce is drawing on expertise from a range of individuals and organisations, including each member of the Taskforce organisation’s constituent memberships.   These include:   Age UK British Psychological Society Care Quality Commission Clinical Commissioning Group Leadership Network College of Social Work Department of Health Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (Vanguard) Health Education England Local Government Association NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network NHS England Mind Monitor NSUN Public Health England Rethink Mental Illness Royal College of General Practitioners Royal College of Nursing Royal College of Psychiatrists Trust Development Authority Young Minds   To date, the Taskforce has heard from more than 20,000 individuals on their priorities for change, through an online survey and engagement events hosted by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.   The Taskforce has also heard from a wide range of individuals and organisations about priorities for change and how this can be achieved. Content has been received from people inside and outside the National Health Service, via the email address promoted since the Taskforce launch.   Contributions continue to be received by the Taskforce on an on-going basis. To date, the organisations the Taskforce have received formal submissions from are:   Alzheimer’s Society Gloucester Young Carers London Metropolitan Police Making Every Adult Matter Mental Health Immigration Detention Working Group National Autistic Society NHS Clinical Commissioners Mental Health Network NHS Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group Plymouth University Service User Group Psychologists Against Austerity Relate: The Relationship People Rethink Mental Illness Society for Clinical Academic Hypnosis St. Mungoes Stonewall Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships   The planned time-frame is as follows:   - The Mental Health Taskforce is working to establish priority outcomes for the strategy.   - Through the summer the Mental Health Taskforce will expand public and cross-sector engagement.   - In the autumn the Mental Health Taskforce will publish the five-year strategy.

Obesity

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his speech of 4 June 2015 to the NHS Confederation, when he expects to publish the obesity strategy; and what plans he has for consultation on that strategy.

Jane Ellison: We will put forward our plans in due course.